Asimov Launches DIY Humanoid Robot Kit
Robotics firm Asimov has opened pre-orders for an open-source, DIY humanoid robot kit. The "Here Be Dragons" edition is aimed at builders with mechanical and electrical skills and uses the same parts as the company's production models, opening up advanced humanoid hardware to the hobbyist and research communities.
The "Here Be Dragons" kit is a 1.20-meter tall, 35kg humanoid with over 25 degrees of freedom. It's designed with a modular architecture, allowing builders to snap together the legs, torso, arms, and head, which facilitates easier assembly and modification. The project was developed by Menlo Research as an open-source initiative. Priced around $15,000, the kit is positioned between lower-cost hobbyist kits and more expensive industrial platforms. For comparison, the K-Bot Founder's Edition from the now-defunct K-Scale Labs was offered at $8,999. The Asimov team claims the price is close to the actual bill-of-materials cost, with pre-orders requiring a $499 deposit. The move to create a DIY kit was born from the team's frustrations with closed, commercial platforms. They cited a two-month delay waiting for a single replacement part for a Unitree G1 robot as a key motivator, highlighting the need for hardware that can be quickly iterated upon using off-the-shelf parts and 3D-printed components. This launch is part of a broader "Cambrian explosion" in open-source robotics hardware, fueled by more accessible actuators and the proliferation of 3D printing. This movement aims to democratize robotics R&D, allowing more researchers and developers to experiment with embodied AI and robot learning without being locked into proprietary ecosystems.
